He Can Tell a Story

As we work our way through our "at home" world history curriculum, J. and I are moving through the Middle Ages. We are making our way slowly, ever so slowly, to the Renaissance.

We flew through the Ancients. We loved the stories of the Egyptians and the Greeks and Romans. I haven't found quite as much to love in the stuffy English monarchs and the Plague.

Until this week. When we experienced Henry V.

I have read a little Shakespeare. A little. I remember when I was a girl, someone in my family gave me a beautifully illustrated children's version of some of his plays. His most famous comedies and his tragedies were all there. But there were no histories. There were none of the compelling and beautiful stories of the the great men of England.

So we jumped in this week. Anticipating this chapter and needing to add a little life into our study (the Greeks and Romans had tons of outside material to draw on, I haven't found as much for the Middle Ages), I purchased Henry V in comic book form for J.



and No Fear Shakespeare for myself.



We read them one afternoon, and the watched Kenneth Branagh in the title role in this film adaption.



I'll say it right now. I have missed out on a lot. It was wonderful. It was powerful. It was brilliant.

But we in it shall be remembered--
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he today that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
this day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now abed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

After we finished the movie last night, J. was pretty quiet. You know, it isn't very "cool" in 4th grade to be a fan of the Bard. Then he said before he went to sleep, "That guy really knows how to tell a story." Amen.

Our First Encounter with the Bard of Avon

started out as a disaster.

I guess I should begin with my good intentions. After years of reading in one of my daily go-to blogs (Mental-multivitamin) about the joy of sharing Shakespeare with kids, I decided to take the first step. Houston's wonderful Miller Outdoor Theatre and Houston Grand Opera's Opera To Go program were presenting an adapted version of Charles Gounod's Romeo and Juliet. School in May after TAKS tests are out of the way is a joke ... I knew this would be a better opportunity to learn than being in the classroom. Besides it was a beautiful day. We would sleep in, drive downtown to see the show, eat lunch at the zoo and make our way home.

Except J doesn't sleep in and was very grouchy in the morning. M didn't want to miss PE that day. My lovely husband kept asking (over and over) why I thought this was more important than school. And I was out of all breakfast making material.

By 8:30 everyone was in a bad mood. Especially me. I tend to get a little testy when the reality doesn't meet my expectation. After 14 years of marriage and 2 boys, one would think I might have gotten over that. I haven't. We were all a little tired from a VERY busy week and we were all hungry. I finally gave up on getting anyone in any of the clothes I would have liked them to wear and decided a nice leisurely breakfast at Starbucks with a steaming chai was out of the question.

M had on his favorite green and orange plaid pants and his best red, white, and blue striped shirt while J sported the jean shorts and moldy T-shirt look. We went through the What-A-Burger drive through. I put the audio version of The Last Olympian on my iPod, hooked it up to the radio, and drove to the theater in peace and quiet.

Thankfully, the reality got a lot closer to my vision as the day went on. I had prepared well for this excursion. J had an abridged version of Romeo and Juliet to read and M had a Romeo and Juliet word search to work on while we waited. The production was fun and lighthearted and only 45-minutes. We all enjoyed the performance and J said he would like to see the whole thing, even if it is three hours long.

I don't think my boys developed a life-long love of Shakespeare from the day, but at least they know who he is.

Happy Birthday Will

April 23, 1564
William Shakespeare born

According to tradition, the great English dramatist and poet William Shakespeare is born in Stratford-on-Avon on April 23, 1564. It is impossible to be certain the exact day on which he was born, but church records show that he was baptized on April 26, and three days was a customary amount of time to wait before baptizing a newborn. Shakespeare's date of death is conclusively known, however: it was April 23, 1616. He was 52 years old and had retired to Stratford three years before.

But did he really write those plays and sonnets? A Supreme Court Justice has his doubts.

From Saturday's Wall Street Journal:

Justice Stevens Renders an Opinion on Who Wrote Shakespeare's Plays
It Wasn't the Bard of Avon, He Says; 'Evidence Is Beyond a Reasonable Doubt'

The Atlantic has a take on this as well:

The Case For Oxford